Biography

Polish union leader who led the Polish Solidarity Movement, a labor strike of 500 days of social revolution, in 1980. As the head of the trade union, he also was elected the Chairman of the Committee in 1980. Being politically moderate, a devout Catholic, and a man of integrity, he won the Nobel Peace Prize on 10/05/1983. Earlier, on 12/31/1980, he had gone underground when martial law was declared in Poland, but was arrested the same month.

He was one of seven kids raised on a small farm and life was hard, as the Nazis imprisoned his father in a concentration camp during his childhood.

On 11/19/1995, in a stunning upset, he was defeated by a slim margin by Aleksander Kwasniewski. His authoritarian style and stubbornness cost him much needed support.